There seems to be no end to high-end audio accessories, especially in the field of isolators. In recent years, various interesting new products have appeared, and while it is impossible to cover everything, whenever something unique stands out in this niche, I am always interested in exploring it further. The Codia Acoustic Titanium Tiso SE (Special Edition) Isolators have captured my attention enough to warrant a closer look.
Codia Acoustic was launched in 2010 with birch-plywood loudspeaker enclosures and has steadily expanded into a focused line of high-end loudspeakers, racks, and accessories.
At Codia, every design element serves a single purpose: better sound. Their products are intentionally practical, free from unnecessary structural flourishes.
If a design detail risks compromising performance, it is removed without hesitation. This concise, purposeful approach reflects a long-term vision – products built to serve the listener for many years, not just to impress at first glance.
Titanium: A decisive material for performance
In 2021, Codia became the first in the audio rack segment to introduce titanium as a core material. Since then, titanium-based components – especially spike shoes and footers – have gained increasing attention for their sonic benefits.
The Codia Audio Titanium Tiso SE isolators benefit from this R&D and are implemented at the fundamental points of the isolators.
The Music
Music can be rejuvenated, revealing new qualities and fostering a closer relationship with it, or it can fall apart.
The Codia isolators belong to the first category. As always, here are a few references that present the positive qualities of the Tiso SE in more detail.
Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana – Mehliana: Taming the Dragon
Mehliana: Taming the Dragon is high-quality and finely ground, allowing exploration of every component through its highly textured sonic journey.
Codia isolators effectively reduce mechanical noise and provide properly tuned isolation, letting the music flow without getting lost in the haze of an unsympathetic mix of materials.
With Tiso SE in place, the isolators did not attempt to shape the narrative, but simply offered better control, avoiding the jarring encounters that even some much pricier footer solutions cannot overcome.
With Codia isolators, Mehldau and Guiliana’s music felt more continuous, revealing itself more expressively without altering the encoded synchronicity. This is again extremely rare at this price point.
Miles Davis – Tutu
It is always enlivening and reassuring to keep my enthusiasm unrestrained when something positive happens unexpectedly, defying the laws of probability.
The proudly Korean-made isolators surprisingly made the already mesmerizing and hypnotic Tutu an even more vivid sonic experience.
Especially with Tutu, where timing is crucial, as deliberately refined and composed by Marcus Miller, if the precise timing is blurred, this iconic and energetic album loses its magnetic impact, particularly by failing to lock into the rhythm pulse.
On the contrary, the Tiso SEs allowed the music to come through more intensely, making it feel more instinctive, atmospheric, and enticing.
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 Wiener Philharmoniker, Carlos Kleiber
It was interesting to observe Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 conducted by Carlos Kleiber and how Codia isolators introduced their sublime momentum.
There is something about the way the orchestra gains a controlled touch and deeper expressiveness.
I have written several times in my Tiso SE listening notes about Kleiber’s familiar interpretive style becoming more distinct, all wrapped in a more elevated, seamless presentation and flow, and found myself savoring each orchestral movement much more.
Codia allowed the internal musical structure to remain stable, revealing a clear sense of what should fade into the background and what should come into focus.
The Conclusion
High-end audio isolators come in many types and designs, and their effectiveness depends on numerous factors. In many cases, the use of exotic advanced materials is more decorative than practical.
However, when materials are carefully selected and technical expertise is properly applied, these isolators can be highly effective in absorbing nearly all unwanted resonances.
Codia isolators were designed from the ground up to improve the mapping of music, unravel complexities for a more seamless presentation, and convey a central sense of impact without adding coloration, while preserving the original dynamic energy.
Throughout various musical selections, Tiso Se has proven to complement the music with a crucial pivot, offering a more rounded alternative and enabling a more comprehensive experience of the high-end audio ecosystem, allowing more music to emerge through the sonic fabric.
In an intensely competitive market, creating a high-end audio accessory that stands out is not easy, as it requires balancing numerous factors.
Many factors are considered even before the initial construction of the object itself, but what I could immediately discern about Codia isolators was the absence of truncated spikes, where attacks are smeared, giving the Tiso SE a unique characteristic: not compromising the very peak of sonic performance.
Where the Tiso SE also excels is in providing that rare sense of musical flow and presence in the moment, without collapsing when the music becomes denser. Many high-end accessories and dedicated devices fail at this exact point, as notes begin to stack.
It all comes down to proof of concept – without properly engineered and tuned equipment, the result is chaotic, with notes stumbling over each other instead of blending harmoniously, making the music muddled, bland, and unattractive to listen to.
It is always a complex task to combine materials and small parts in a way that is consistently harmonically, sonically, and – most importantly – musically correct.
From hands-on experience and placement at various strategic points in different systems, Codia isolators allow the system to gain nuance, remaining consistent across different allocations. This is another rare and noteworthy quality.
Many isolators, footers, and elevating devices compromise spatial cues and acoustic nodes and interfere with timing. The result can be a slightly faster or slower response. Interestingly and surprisingly, the Titanium Tiso SE neither sped up nor slowed down the musical momentum, but responded accurately, demonstrating a music-centered approach.
While some isolators and footers provide stable resonance control, they remain within the generic range in their approach to exceptional reproduction. Codia isolators are synonymous with musical drive and introduce a highly intriguing, almost magnetic pull – a tangible, positive shift in performance.
In fact, not every footer can provide simultaneous, comprehensive absorption without compromising reproduction quality. This is precisely where Codia stands apart from similar products. As a key difference, at its real-world price, the Codia Tiso SE allows for deeper immersion in sound and music, inviting contemplation.
The Tiso SE’s structural fusion of materials and design delivers harmonious audio tessellation that is refreshingly potent – not just in the structure and interconnection of music, but by following the underlying logic and laws that define music itself.
Codia isolators do not disrupt musical order; instead, they integrate harmoniously, enhancing the structural strength of the music without forcing transformation. Cleverly implemented tribology and friction effectively suppress unwanted micro-vibrations and resonances, far above their price point.
Many footers and isolators can induce mechanical instability rather than addressing its absence. The Tiso SE clearly avoids this phenomenon and behaves very differently, aligning musical fundamentals above the expected threshold. That alone makes them stand out and worthy of consideration.
Titanium (Special Edition) isolators prioritize function and avoid many apparent limitations. Codia Audio has made all the right choices with the Tiso SE, seizing the opportunity to deliver a positive surprise and letting their product speak for itself, distinctly made to support everyday listening with uncommon potency but apparently very laser-focused intention. ❖
Price
- RRP : US$240each
Technical Specifications
- Model :Tiso SE (Special Edition) – Chrome finish only
- DIA : 60mm
- Height : 34mm
- Weight : about 420gr
Contact
Codia Acoustic Design
Sangjiseok-Gil 371
Paju-Si, Gyeonggi-do
Seoul, Korea
Web: http://codia.co.kr/
Email. giga1kr@naver.com
Tel. +82-10-4716-6171